The Final Day
by Something Illusory
Summary: —2x20 DE scene as it should of went—  "I can't lose you.." he admits softly. She purses her lips and replies as steady as she can manage, "You won't."


Elena took a deep breath, for once in her life afraid of what she was going to say to Damon. She hated seeing him like this. Hurt. Betrayed. And the very worst part was that it was _ her fault. _But really, what could she do? This whole situation was all of her fault in the first place. She was willing to do this. To die and protect every person she cared about.

She knew what Damon's solution was and she couldn't bring herself to consider it for even a second. She simply couldn't let Bonnie die for her. Elijah's elixir was the only solution to this entire mess. She had to put her faith in it because if she didn't, she would have absolutely nothing to put her faith into except the fact that she would not walk away from Klaus' sacrifice.

_He's taking it harshly,_ she thought as she lightly ventured down the hallway that led to Damon's room. _He needs this. He needs to see that this is the only way._

She peered around his doorway, for a split second believing that he wouldn't be in there. Quite frankly, she was tired of Damon's determination to keep her alive. He should respect her decisions like Stefan has. Stefan understands that they didn't have any say in what was going down. It was either the elixir or die.

All she had to do was get Damon to understand, too.

Easy, right?

Wrong.

There he was, his black shadow facing away from her. He was gazing out the window and thinking of a better place where death did not steal loved ones and caused such hurt and sorrow.

"You disappeared." Elena huffed, leaning a hand against the entry. She said it so nonchalantly, like she was expecting it. This made him irritated.

"I didn't want to hear anymore." he replied childishly but truthfully.

She nervously placed her hands into the back of her pockets and chose her next words carefully. Making Damon understand the situation was going to be tricky. She needed to be clever and convincing. "I need you to understand why I'm doing this."

He whipped his head around to look at her. "Why? _Clearly _doesn't matter what I think." he says, still in that childish and mocking tone.

She almost laughs because he's ridiculous. "I'll be fine, Damon. I'll drink the elixir…" she takes more steps toward him, eyes locked onto his."..Bonnie will kill Klaus…" She shrugs her shoulders, hoping that he will see how complex he is turning everything into. "..and then all of this will _finally_ be over."

His face twists into uncertainty. "If it works," he adds.

"It will work." she says confidently.

"You _think _it will work." he reminds her. "You _want_ it to work! Why am I the only one who's convinced it won't?"

_Because you don't trust me. _She scowled to herself.

He looks at her desperately but determinedly. "There has to be another way."

"There isn't." she says lightly, eyes now on the floor. There wasn't any other way. She was going to drink the elixir and wake up.

He steps toward her now. "You're going to die, Elena." He hopes to ram that thought deep inside of her skull so she will realize that she's leaving everyone behind. She's choosing to leave them, to have them live without her. For some, the idea of living without Elena in the world was worse than dying a slow and painful death.

Well, at least for Damon it was.

"And _then_ I'll come back to life."

"That is _not _a risk I am willing to take." He insists, raising a finger to point it at her accusingly.

Without really thinking about it, she takes his hand into hers and holds it warmly. "But I am." she says softly, eyes pleading for him to understand. And suddenly he is lost in a trance, compelled by her beauty and her way of making him feel more than he is. By…her being able to take over him. To calm him with a touch. To make his troubles disappear.

He looks down at their hands, mesmorized by the thought of her touching him like this. Her hands are so warm compared to his. He frowns deeply. Why was she testing him like this? Why?

That's right. Because she's _Elena. _

She watches his gaze flicker to their hands and she is sure she knows he is confused. At this point, she doesn't care. "It's my life, Damon." she reminds him. "My choice." Now she squeezes his hands in hers and tries to soften him. She watches, almost amused, that he is so affected by this simple touching.

Now he looks into her eyes and sees a fragile girl there. He sees that her hours very well may be numbered. And then he will be without her. Without Elena…was that even possible? How did he manage all those years without now? Now, it would be impossible. He simply couldn't live if she was no longer here.

"I can't lose you.." he admits softly.

She purses her lips and replies as steady as she can manage, "You won't." Inside of her, heat pulses through her veins and tightens a knot within her stomach. Those few simple words he has confessed makes her realize just how small Damon can be. How small he is in this big, cruel world. He is a lost boy consumed by rash decisions and passionate love.

He simply stares at her, taking in this sweet and tender moment that she has given him. He accepts it without question because, deep down, he believes that she knows she may die as well. That the elixir will fail. And it will. If only she could see that.

"I will." he whispers. "You're so willing to just give everything up? _Stefan_? Bonnie? Jeremy?" Damon does not dare mention himself.

She shakes her head. "I am _protecting_ them, Damon. This is what I have to do. I'm what Klaus needs..nobody can change that. It's how it is. None of you should have to die."

Her grip tightens and his face wrinkles in pain. "It'll happen anyway."

She blinks innocently. "What?"

"You know as well as I do that it won't be the same. We all might as well be dead than live without you here." He removes his hands sternly from her grasp and turns his back to her. She stares at him, not failing to notice the 'we' in his sentence.

"Damon.." she whispers, willing him to look at her. When he doesn't she steps behind him and places a hand on his bicep. She spins him around and his eyes are blazing with anger and fear.

"I will be okay." she says eagerly, trying to convince him. "I promise you."

Damon shakes his head. "You can't _keep _that promise. The elixir won't work, Elena." he is suddenly stepping toward her, gripping her shoulders and giving her a light shake. "_Please _see that."

She places two palms onto his large, warm chest: defending herself lightly again his shake. She feels the steady rhythm of his heart pumping beneath it. Her eyes find his and tears almost well into her eyes at the sight of him. He looks so…broken. There are no other ways to explain it. He is afraid of losing her. Anyone can see that loudly and clearly. Unfortunately, there is nothing she can do.

"I have to believe that it will work…" she mumbles. "I have to put my faith in something."

"Put your faith in _Bonnie_!" he exclaims eagerly. "She can kill him. You can survive this, Elena."

"No, Damon." she growls, voice strong and stern. She finds the pain flash in his eyes before he quickly covers it up. "Listen to me.." she whispers, voice soft and pleading. "I will come back to you. I am going to wake up, and everything will be okay." Her eyelids flutter for a second before she breaks free of him altogether and begins toward the door. Toward the elixir. Toward Elijah. Toward Klaus. Toward..her death.

"I'm strong enough." she declares, exiting the room. Damon is left there to watch her as she goes. To himself, he wishes she would come back and he could simply sweep her away from all of he knows that he can't.

_I'm not going to live without her. _The promise declares itself in his mind, willing him to grasp and live by it. So he does, knowing that if Elena doesn't wake up, then he surely won't either.


End file.
